Q: An acquaintance with a long history of symptoms of OCD has suddenly landed in jail. How does someone who is entrenched in ritualistic behaviors (and has never been treated) cope when suddenly put into a prison environment? Will they plunge into suicidaldepression? This is someone for whom simple tasks like showering take hours because they must be completed in specific steps. They haven’t held down a job for decades so any sense of adhering to someone else’s schedule is alien to them.
Thank you.

A: There is no easy or certain answer to a question like this one. People respond to adversity in all kinds of unique ways. I can imagine that some people like the person you describe would indeed become seriously depressed. But I’ve also known people to dissociate in these kinds of circumstances, finding a way to numb themselves until it’s over. I don’t know the situation in Canada. In the U.S., there are often mental health specialists on staff at prisons. Sometimes the best outcome of prison is that a person gets treatment they never were able to afford or could not bring themselves to do. I hope your acquaintance is one of the lucky ones and finds himself in a place where there are staff who can help. I do hope that his friends and family have alerted his lawyer to the problem so that the lawyer can be a helpful advocate.

Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie is licensed as both a psychologist and marriage and family counselor. She specializes in couples and family therapy and parent education. Check out her website at ParentAdvisor.net, follow her on Facebook or Twitter.